Friday, May 07, 2010

Nancy Pelosi Thanks God for Nuns' Support for Abortion Bill

On the National Day of Prayer, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D.-Calif.), praised a small minority of Catholics for supporting ObamaCare legislation, which was opposed by pro-life Democrat congressmen and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops because of the bill's funding of abortion. In addition, Pelosi appealed to Catholic clergy to preach immigration reform from pulpit.

In the final days of the contentious health care reform debates, [Sister Carol] Keehan, head of Catholic Health Association, and nearly 60 other nuns and leaders of religious orders found the [ObamaCare] legislation's numerous anti-abortion funding provisions -- provisions which did not satisfy the Catholic bishops -- were indeed sufficient. They came out in favor of the bill, saying it was "life affirming" legislation. This gave pro-life legislators enough cover to allow them to vote for the bill.

[At a Washington briefing for the Nation’s Catholic Community, sponsored by the National Catholic Reporter and Trinity Washington University, attendees] gave Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi a standing ovation on Thursday afternoon for her role in drop-kicking health reform through the House. When she mentioned Keehan and the nuns, also rock stars among social-justice-focus Catholics, cheers of "Thank you!!" rang out.

As columnist E.J. Dionne later told the group, "Everyone in this room has been told at least once in their lives, 'Listen to the nuns!'"

"We believe that the health care initiative was respecting the dignity and worth of every person," Pelosi, a Catholic, told the Catholic Community Conference Thursday on Capitol Hill. "I thank so many of you who helped get that passed. Thank God for the nuns. Thank God for the nuns.”

In a statement following passage of the bill, the head of the USCCB, Cardinal Francis George, wrote: “(F)or whatever good this law achieves or intends, we as Catholic bishops have opposed its passage because there is compelling evidence that it would expand the role of the federal government in funding and facilitating abortion and plans that cover abortion. The statute appropriates billions of dollars in new funding without explicitly prohibiting the use of these funds for abortion, and it provides federal subsidies for health plans covering elective abortions. …

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Thursday urged Catholic leaders to "instruct" their parishioners to support immigration reforms, saying clerics should "play a very major role" in supporting Democratic policies.

"The cardinals, the archbishops, the bishops that come to me and say, 'We want you to pass immigration reform,' and I said, 'I want you to speak about it from the pulpit. I want you to instruct your' -- whatever the communication is," said Pelosi, who is Catholic, speaking at the Nation's Catholic Community conference sponsored by Trinity Washington University and the National Catholic Reporter.

"The people, some (who) oppose immigration reform, are sitting in those pews, and you have to tell them that this is a manifestation of our living the gospels," she said.

While it's not unusual for clergy to speak about politics from the pulpit, it is uncommon for a lawmaker to openly encourage them to preach a specific policy.

Asked for clarification, a Pelosi spokesman issued the statement: "From health care to energy security to immigration reform, the speaker believes the faith community has played and will continue to play a critical role in our national debate."